The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for packing bulk materials in containers and, more specifically, to apparatus and methods for packing fresh, leafy vegetables such as spinach in baskets or other containers.
It is the usual practice for growers to pack freshly harvested spinach leaves in bushel baskets, or similar containers, together with a quantity of cracked ice for shipment to produce jobbers where the spinach is repacked in smaller quantities for distribution to retailers. For space-efficient shipment, the spinach must be compacted into a much smaller volume than the leaves normally occupy in their free, uncompacted state. The spinach may, of course, be compacted manually to a certain extent, but this is a very laborious process, resulting in uneven quantities of spinach being packed in the baskets.
In the closest prior art known to applicant, the spinach is compressed by a plunger, or similar device, and a circular weight is placed atop the compressed spinach to hold it in the basket until a cover is place thereon. The weight is manually removed from the top of the spinach as the cover is placed on the basket, which is a somewhat difficult and time-consuming task requiring careful coordination of weight removal and cover placement to prevent the spinach from expanding and spilling out of the basket. Thus, the packing of fresh spinach at the present state of the art has tended to be a labor-intensive operation.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a semi-automated method of packing leafy vegetables, and apparatus used in connection therewith, which greatly reduces the amount of labor involved in such operations.
Another object is to provide apparatus and methods for compacting bulky leaf vegetables such as spinach into a shipping container and allowing a retaining cover to be placed on the container quickly and easily without danger of the compacted leaves spilling out of the container during the operation.
A further object is to provide apparatus for and methods of packing predetermined quantities of leafy vegetables and cracked ice in a shipping container, such as a bushel basket, in less time and with less effort than through conventional apparatus and methods.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.